Rama Adhikari, TGT
Kathmandu, Nov 9
International Nepali Literary Society (INLS), Kansas Chapter organized a virtual seminar to commemorate the 112th birth anniversary of exponential Nepali poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. In the event organized over ZOOM on Monday, poet and critic Mahesh Paudyal presented a paper on universal consciousness in Devkota’s writing, and underscored Devkota’s estimation outside Nepali. He cited about a dozen of Devkota’s works in which the poet has given voice to the people in margin: women, children, widows, Mountain races, tribal groups and indigenous settlers of Nepal and its vicinity, including Tibet. “He is inclusive, pro-people, humanistic and revolutionary,” he added. The presentation was followed by a long session of questions and answers, in which Mr. Paudyal addressed queries from the members of the audience.
The gathering was also addressed by INLS General Secretary Sarwagya Wagle, INLS Women’s Committee Coordinator Urmila Niroshi, INLS Board of Trustees member Tirtharaj Adhikari, and INLS Central Executive Member Tara Adhikari, besides others. Kalpana Tamang, General Secretary of INLS Kansas Chapter delivered the introductory speech highlighting the importance of remembering Devkota. Writers Keshav Bhattarai, Rajan Panta, Radhika Guragain, Mina Poudel and Uma Sharma and expressed their views in the event hosted by Kamala Neupane, the Chair of the chapter. Saroj Gautam, Senior Vice President of INLS INLS Kansas chapter delivered the vote of thanks.
Nepali literary organizations all over the world are organizing various events this week, keeping in view the birth of poet Devkota, which falls on 14 November this year. Dates of Devkota’s birth vary from year to year, as it is observed on Laxmi Pooja Day, which may fall on different dates according to the position of the month, as provisioned in Hindu Lunar Calendar.